Sour Patch Kids
by Kometfligen
Summary: Modern AU. Bonnibel "Princess" Bubblegum's narration of her life starting from the ends of her high school life to whenever I think I'm done with this. Probably not until she finishes her second year of college or something. Will change rating accordingly. This flows more like a story than a fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time**** whatsoever**_

* * *

"Hear, citizens of the Candy Kingdom!" I beckoned them.

The candy people stopped what they were doing and turned around to me. Their candy-coated, sugar-filled faces looked at their leader, me, with awe, awaiting my orders.

I exclaimed with the loudest and proudest voice I own, "Let us join in the castle to celebrate our victory over the Why-wolves today!"

They cheered in excitement as the gate doors, secured by the Banana Guards, slowly groaned open. Party music emanated from the castle along with the scents of a delicious feast. Everyone threw their hands into the air and started chanting "Bonnibel! Bonnibel!" in rhythm. This was strange though. The candy citizens know me as Princess Bubblegum. Where did they get Bonnibel from?

"Bonnibel!"

The crowded cheering sounded like it was becoming more singular.

"Bonnibel!"

This voice was so familiar.

"You're going to be latel!"

What was I going to be late for? We're having a party!

"Bonnibel Bubblegum, wake up!"

I jumped up and became startled. My eyes were barely open, and my mind was still in between reality and fantasy. Did I just have a lucid dream?

This place was more familiar to me than the sugar-crusted walls of the Candy Kingdom. It was my actual kingdom, which was actually my bedroom. It might as well have been the Candy Castle though, since it was just draped in pink and white everything. There was something that wasn't candy-colored in my room though, and it was my pale, redheaded maid, Pepper Minze, who was clad in the designated dark blue and white uniform for maids, as chosen by my father. She was only in her early thirties, but the tiredness in her eyes and face and wear and tear on her hands showed otherwise.

"Bonnibel, it's time to get up!"

"Wuzzah?", was all I could muster at the moment.

"It's time for school, Bonnibel.", Pepper sternly pronounced.

I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes a little bit. Small bundles of my disheveled, light blond hair fell in front of my face as I started to face reality. It really was time for me to get up. 6:14. It was a pain to get up this early every day just for school. I would be graduating soon though. Just a few more weeks, and I would be done with high school and start living on a college campus. A few stretches, a yawn, and a silent, groggy march to my bathroom was the start to my tired mornings. I turned on the faucet and cupped cool water in my hands. I looked at the tiny puddle and reluctantly splashed my face with it. I hated washing the sleep off of my face. It felt like I was dissolving the Candy Citizens.

I did what I had to do; my simple routine that I practiced for days on end and perfected, like the exhausted yet fulfilled apprentice of a skilled craftsman. I put on that tired uniform of a pink tie and skirt, beige vest with the school insignia on it, and a white collar, short-sleeved shirt. Not in that order of course. I flipped my, now neat and tidy, hair out of my shirt, grabbed my bag with the materials I needed for the day, and started heading for the kitchen. There, I saw Pepper making a proper breakfast; stacks of carbohydrates drizzled in sugars and fat, proteins still sizzling with remnants of cooked oil, vitamin wedges cut neatly on a separate plate, and a tall glass of calcium on the side. Thanking Pepper for the meal, I took a bite and finally felt more awake. Each bite I took could've sent me to heaven. The juices and tastes unique to each food blended in my mouth and created a sensation that could only be discovered through eating.

Through my state of euphoria, I heard the newscaster on television rambling on about political issues that I wasn't old enough to have the ability to care for, the latest diet fad, and murders and assaults that spawned from late last night to early this morning. I finished up and looked at that old grandfather clock that rested in the same corner since the day I was born. The pendulum swung back and forth allowing the tired hands of the grandfather clock to click and clack just as how it did decades ago. The dried, faded wood beautifully encompassed the off-white face of the clock. It said, with exasperated groans that grew familiar to me, that it was time for me to head out.

I took my car keys out of a small clay pot that I originally made for my parents' keys. I won't forget how proud I was to have made something that could be of use. I was only seven after all. I bid farewell to Pepper and opened the door. As I stepped foot outside, I felt a blast of heat smash into me. The heat wisps quietly danced around the insides of my clothing, grazing my skin in all opportunities it could. The heat immediately triggered me to run to my silver sedan and pray that it didn't turn into an oven on wheels. Regardless of the heat, I had to brave the fires and get to class on time like it was my mission.

Going through the light traffic to my high school, I reflected on this morning.

I am Bonnibel Bubblegum, a senior at Achilles-Ackerman Academy who is also the student council president, top of her class, only valedictorian for graduation, and role model to all students, and staff, who want to succeed, yet I'm dreaming of things like the Candy Kingdom and Why-wolves. My face flushed a little at the thought of my childhood fantasies as I gently hit my forehead on the steering wheel during a red light to hide whatever shame appeared on my face, but everyone had some sort of fantasy dream when they were younger, right?

* * *

_I write __**really**__ long sentences. And I'm sorry about that._

_Super descriptive first chapter. It's all told in Bubblegum's POV just because I wanted to challenge myself and write like how a prim and proper "princess" would narrate her life._

_I know I have issues with the solidarity of my tenses, and I'm sorry._

_So "minze" (I think) means "mint" in German. Trying to make it so that the Adventure Time names can belong more "properly" in a modern world._

_"Bonnibel" is Scottish apparently (for attractive and pretty [don't take my word for it though]), but "Bubblegum" is pretty universal, so. Ridiculousness is forgiven._

_The icon is done by hobo-somniis, who does really cute art (on Tumblr)._


	2. Chapter 2

I found my parking spot that had remained the same for the last two years. Although they aren't assigned formally, everyone just kind of knew who had what spot. I parked my little car right next to an unfamiliar vehicle. It was a motorcycle that I had never seen before. It looked like it was taken care of better than a spoiled child. Its tires and seat matched the slick asphalt it stood on. The dark red and black paint job on this modern street bike managed to shine in the morning sun. It must've been hot sitting on the seat this morning.

I grabbed my imitation briefcase bag from the passenger seat of my car and left the parking lot. Typically, the person who parks next to me is Melissa, a curly haired gossip girl, but then again, there weren't assigned parking lot spaces. I entered my school building as I have for the past four years; elegantly and reluctantly.

Following the invisible trench that I should've made with my footprints after walking the same path for so long, I made my way to my locker and opened it with the simple, three-number combination. I put away the things I didn't need and took the things I left stranded overnight in my locker to be reunited with me. I made my way to the student council office and started working on the paperwork I needed to get done by next week.

The student council office was the size of the regular club rooms only slightly larger to make room for a walk-in closet. Walking through the door, there is a coffee table immediately in front, two couches facing each other on opposite sides of the table, shelves resting their backs on the walls to the right, and a worn desk to the left. Next to the desk was that closet of leftover equipment from previous years that none of the clubs needed this year.

After I sat in my chair behind the desk with a pen in my hand and several lines of ink already on scattered forms, I heard three sharp knocks on the solid wooden door. They didn't wait for my word to open the door. Emerging from the crack of the door waved solid, rich blond hair. The owner of said hair had with a uniform in pink, white, and beige like mine; although, her skirt was shortened a little more. She had on an item that made her stand out; a thick, rainbow muffler in the beginning of May. This poised girl, however, wasn't breaking a sweat.

"Princess, good morning!", she said with a friendly smile.

"'Morning, Rain.", I replied.

She was my vice president; my right-hand woman. She was also my best friend, and as my best friend, I know all of her business, and she knows all of mine, like how my nickname around school is "Princess" because of my standing as student council president and the way I hold myself around school. I don't mind it though. In fact, that nickname has given me more respect than trouble. Besides, since I was a child, I wanted to be a princess.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just finishing some paperwork for the prom, approving or disapproving budget increases. You know; simple stuff."

Rain is also a native Korean, and English is her third language. I can understand her Korean, but she wanted to practice her English while she wasn't in Korea.

"Good! Can I help?"

"Well . . . I need to know if the music club is going to be performing during the school festival. The deadline was yesterday, but since you know Jake, could you ask him about it? I need a more definite answer than 'probs'.", I stated with my student-council-president tone.

"Sure. I let you do your paperwork then.", she compliantly said.

Before she left, Rain gave me a little bow and waved, showing me the mix of Eastern and Western culture that she experienced. I wish I could travel like Rain. Staying in this one area is somewhat of a bore. I'm always called "smart" and "knowledgeable", but I'm only "book-smart". I want to be informed in everything. In every field, culture, game, food. Everything. It's not a want anymore; I need to see the world.

Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from the closet door. There was a low thud and then a rattling. The doorknob shook and rattled with anger. A million thoughts ran through my head. One of them was "why am I not running?". No one is supposed to be in here other than me and any other student council member. If they were a student council member, they would know that the closet door is broken and that there is a specific way to open it from the inside. Why was this person struggling? They weren't a student council member. Then, who was in the closet?!

* * *

**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever.**

_Trying to break up the large chapters I have saved into smaller bits, since I even tl;dr my writing when I'm proofreading / editing. _


	3. Chapter 3

_I forgot to say this beforehand. Don't be afraid to review or send me a message on my writing. I kinda wanna know how I did for a first try._

_Thank you for reading!_

* * *

Gathering up my courage that was reinforced with a nearby paperweight, I slowly approached the rattling door. My heart was beating louder and faster as the adrenaline in my body forced a tingling fight or flight sensation in my nerves. The paperweight was shaking in my right hand as my left hand slowly approached the doorknob to open the door. As my hand gripped the shivering doorknob, I could feel the tug and pull of the person behind the door just as clearly as how I could feel the blood pumping through the tiny veins in my ears. As if I was saying "no", my hand held the knob in place, and the person responded by letting go, since their previous efforts were in vain. I slowly turned the knob. Each piece of metal in the doorknob finally clicked with each other and unlocked the door. I cautiously opened the door towards myself and traveled with the door so that the intruder didn't see my face until they had to.

When the door was fully opened, I heard heavy thudding on the tiles that lined the office. I peeked through whatever opening I could to get a look at this stranger, and all I saw was layered, thick, raven-black hair that fell to this person's lower back and was slightly disheveled but still looked shiny and moved like silk as this person walked. Accompanying the luscious mane were a pair of long, thin legs tightly wrapped in a dark, faded denim, loud and bright red boots, and a slightly oversized, flannel shirt with a red and black plaid pattern on it. The arms that stuck out of the short sleeves were toned and tanned. I couldn't see this person's face, but as soon as they stepped out of the door's way, I slammed the closet door back in place, which gave this stranger a huge jump.

"What the?!", a strong, tomboyish voice shouted. The stranger turned around, and what I saw made my heart skip a beat.

I don't know if it was from the anger that festered in their eyes or how incredibly beautiful this person's face was. As I traced the perfect jawline with my eyes, I came across high cheekbones, thin and glossy lips, a small, thin nose, and two beaming red eyes surrounded by long eyelashes and topped with thin eyebrows. The lightly bronzed skin tone from their arms coated the rest of their skin. At the base of this person's slender neck were long, defined collarbones that hid slightly underneath the inch-thick straps of a worn, bought-in-a-pack, white tank top.

"Wh-what are you doing in the student council office?!", I shouted as I raised the blunt paperweight above my head, aiming it at this person's head and preparing to throw it if they didn't give me a sufficient answer.

"Whoa! Calm down, Princess!", the person responded with hands raised as if I were a cop.

I lowered my weapon and gave this person a quizzical look.

"Who are you?"

"Marceline? Marceline Abadeer? I guess you don't remember me with all that work you do."  
I paused for a moment and started to think about any of the time times I could've encountered her. This Marceline. . .

"Well, you _do_ do so much work that you run yourself ragged. Heh, I guess I should call you 'Raggedy Princess'.", she jokingly stated as she shrugged her shoulders and basically shrugged me off.

With a newfound anger in my eyes, I raised the fat, metal bar that I use as a paperweight.

"Ok, ok! I get it; you don't like 'Raggedy Princess'."

She went back to her original "I get that I'm caught, so please don't hurt me" position.

"If that's the case, then what were you doing in the closet? It's closed to everyone but the student council."

"Well, if you _really_ must know," she sighed, "I came in early, since I figured _you_ would come early, and saw that no one was in, so I thought someone might've been chillin' in the closet or something, so I decided to look, and 'BANG' goes the door, and I got stuck, and now I'm here."

"Why would anyone be 'chillin' in the closet'?", I asked.

"Look, Princess. I would love to continue this conversation, but I need to get to my locker. Class starts soon, ya know?"

She was right. I looked at the clock that rested above the door frame of the closet and saw that class is supposed to start in five minutes. I was so invested in interrogating Marceline that I didn't notice the time, and I didn't finish what I wanted to do this morning.

"Ugh. Fine; I'll let you go. For now.", I defeatedly replied.

She said with this half smile that showed two of her slightly large canines, "I'll swing by some time after school to let you know the deets, 'kay, Princess?"

* * *

**_I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever._**

_Constantly tries to subtly reference Adventure Time. Also, Marceline has a fairly boyish voice in my headcanon, even though her voice actress does do an amazing job._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you for the reviews and everything. I hope that you're all enjoying this story. _

_Reviews are greatly appreciated!_

* * *

The strange girl gave me a wink, opened the office door, and left my sight. I breathed a sigh of relief, since it wasn't some strange intruder and rather a student, but now I had the leftover paperwork to worry about.

Class doesn't worry me too much. It's not something particularly difficult. Since I already was accepted into one of the most prestigious universities with a full ride, I didn't need to care much about class other than keeping grades up. The Advanced Placement classes were a joke, and I'm guessing the tests will be too, since classes tend to just teach for the test nowadays. The one course that I was interested in was the college-level English class that my school offered. It was actually slightly challenging.

During College English, we were given a prompt for homework due after the weekend; write a short poem. On what? It could've been anything. Any particular style we should use? Nope; just whatever seems right. There was always a catch with this educator. This Simon Petrikov, a professor at a nearby university who studied all things literature and English, had this way with tricking students that almost seemed mad. I loved that about this class. The sudden twists and turns that the professor would make would actually teach us something not only about the course material itself but about life and how it corkscrews around like an expensive and unpredictable rollercoaster. The greatest question about this project was "what am I going to write about?". As classes rolled onwards and came to a screeching halt at the end of the day, that question plagued my mind.

Although I have a love for all of academia, being creative was something that I had issues with. For example, when I was a child, during art time, I drew a picture of the periodic table and colored it according to type and drew in samples of each element. That was probably the most colorful thing I have ever done in my life. Everything from that point on was black and white and not too interesting. I tried researching creativity, but every source gave me the same answer; "close your eyes, and try your best."

I decided that maybe doing the rest of the paperwork from this morning would help clear my mind and give me the imagination I need or distraction I want. As I started making my way towards the office, I passed by an entire city of students. Some of them greeted me, some of them ignored me, and some of them were just having fun, like how all students should at this age. A medley of conversation pieces came flooding into my ears; none of them were interesting.

As I turned a corner, I saw a familiar face. He had this dirty blond mess called hair, a healthy gold skin tone, and dark chocolate eyes. He had a small, black birthmark on the tip of his nose that rested on a slightly round face. His name was Jake, a senior that was held back a year because of some unknown mischief he was involved in during middle school. Including being in the music club, Jake was the school's important linebacker with broad shoulders and powerful legs, but he wasn't as built as the rest of the team. In fact, he didn't really look like he was on a sport's team, if you were to stereotype. However, on the field, he magically finds a way to hold and win against someone twice his size, as if he could become larger at will. He was wearing a pressed, pale-yellow collared shirt with short sleeves that was unbuttoned to show the bright, white tank top that was underneath, a pair of clean black slacks, and nice black dress shoes. The collar of his shirt had the school's insignia on one side of it.

"'Sup, Princess?", he said while waving one arm. His other arm was too preoccupied around Rain. Rain gave me her small smile as a greeting.

"Hello, Jake, Rain. How are things?", I replied with my friendly tone and smile.

"'S all good; headin' over to practice. Hey, have you seen Finn?", he asked.

Finn was Jake's little, adopted brother. He was the freshman of the group of seniors and juniors that I'm friendly with. Come to think of it,

"I haven't seen him since the beginning of lunch. Is it important? Because I could let you use the P.A. system to call him out."

"Nah, I don't need him that much. Just haven't seen him and was worried is all."

Jake is definitely the overprotective type. He's even like that with Rain sometimes, but he does that because he treasures them. To give an example, Jake calls Rain "Lady" as a term of endearment; "Short for 'Milady'.", he told me one day. It's really cute; he looked like a knight in tan armor.

"Jake, is time for club to start, I think.", Rain said with a sweet voice that I never hear when I'm with her. Then again, people are different when they're with the one they love.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, gotta go, Princess! Come on, Lady. You wanted to listen in, right?"

Rain nodded as Jake let go of Rain with his arm. He held Rain's hand and started walking towards the club room.

"Wait, Jake!", I called.

"What's up?", he said as he turned around to face me.

"Is the music club performing at the festival?"

"Yeah. I thought Marceline told you this morning though.", he said, scratching his hair a little from slight confusion.

Right. Marceline. After a short flashback to this morning's events, I asked,

"Actually, she didn't. But who exactly _is_ this 'Marceline'?"

"Don't tell me you forgot, PB! She's the head of the club. And, you know, The 'Queen'.", he explained.

I kept on hearing things about this "Queen" ever since sophomore year, but I was the "Princess", and I had never met Marceline beforehand. At the very least, I don't remember meeting her.

"She's the head of the club, correct? Then, she'll be at practice.", I stated.

"Yeah, defs. Why?", Jake asked curiously.

"I need to have a chat with this '_Queen_'.", I irritatedly said. My irritation caught onto Jake very quickly.

"A-alright, Peebs.", he stuttered. "Here's the thing though; Marceline takes music super seriously, so you'd have to talk to her at the end."

"It's ok. I'll just wait with Rain."

We had a small conversation as we were walking to the music club, and the closer we got to the club room, the more I could hear the unique, deep notes that could only come out of an electric bass accompanied by other sharp tones that I guessed were vocals. When we got to the door, Jake was about to turn the knob but quickly froze in his tracks. Because of Jake, I could clearly hear the lyrics that this person was singing.

"-inal act of our little play.

There is a lacking of sympathy,

and all the sex is just formality.

And though I really hate the honesty,

it's the reality of you and me.

And still, I won't let this go!"

The powerful voice echoed in my mind. There was a strong mix of resentment, agony, anguish, and love that filled the breadth between the words, making them drip with passion. The bass playing was no different during this instrumental break.

"Can this be what they really call love?

All the hurt? All the hate?

It never goes away.

And if it lasts ''til death do us part',

kiss me now; seal the vow,

and let me die toda-"

Suddenly, all the passion and energy stopped and was replaced by a short but disgusting noise that sounded like someone shaving metal with a disposable razor. Through the old, wooden door, I heard someone awfully familiar say "Frick" along with some rattling and a few steps that also sounded painfully familiar. Jake took the break in the song as his cue and finally opened the door.

The culprit was the Queen, who was completely by herself.

* * *

**_I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever._**

_I used "Mozaik Role", arranged by nano._


	5. Chapter 5

_I found out that you could change the rating of stories, so I changed it. It's not really planned to be M until later later on._

_I hope you enjoy! Reviews are greatly appreciated_

**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever**

* * *

"J-Jake?! What the stuff, man?! I told you not to come in when I'm jammin'!", Marceline hissed with a flustered face that made her cheeks the shade of her deep red Fender Precision bass.

"You let _them_ hear it too?!"

She saw Rain and I and took off and raised her bass in anger, but she would never have the guts to throw it. It looked old but well maintained. It had stickers of various shapes and colors on it.

"Gragh! I'll kill you!", yelled a flustered Queen.

"Hey! Chill, Marceline. You're great at everything music, so it's fine. Besides, they were gonna listen in anyway", Jake reassured.

"W-whatever, man. You know my solo jam sessions are totes private. Knock or something next time."

The Queen's anger subsided, and she put down the bass and held onto its neck while the end of its body gently touched the floor.

"Unlike what you did in the office this morning.", I added.

"Hey there, Bonnibel.", she taunted and wiggled around her free fingers at me in the form of some distasteful wave.

"Hey, Marceline.", I droned unamused as I crossed my arms.

It was hard to believe that the person who just made the most tantalizing tones come out of an old guitar was this person.

"I need to talk to you about this morning as soon as you're done."

"Ok, Princess, but practice comes first. Wouldn't want to be terrible during the oh-so important festival.", she mocked.

I gave a low growl in response, since I had little tolerance for this person's arrogant attitude, but I didn't mind the sweet sounds that came from her bass. She put the bass's strap back on, rested the bass gently on her shoulders, and started to tune the old thing. Jake went over to a rack that was at the far right of the room and took out his viola case. Rain and I took a spot towards the left of the room to face four fairly large speakers.

"Hey, Jake. Where's Finn?", asked Marceline as she skillfully turned the white knobs on her bass.

"I dunno. He should be here soon. If not, then I'll give him a call. Little buddy has me worried all the time.", Jake responded as he took out a bright yellow guitar with a small sticker of a worm on it.

"It's not like him to be late, ya know?", said Marceline.

As if on cue, Finn crashed through the doors, panting hard and sweating slightly. His little arms (compared to his brother) were sticking out of a sleeveless, white hoodie that was over a simple, bright blue t-shirt. His denim shorts, worn and torn, had some grass stains on it along with parts of his calf. Tired black sneakers were clinging desperately to his feet. Last but not least, his treasured white knit hat rested on his golden locks of hair that extenuated his innocent, shining blue eyes. The distinguishing feature of his hat were the small little nubs on the top which resembled bear ears.

"I. Ha. I'm sorry. I'm late. Marceline.", panted Finn.

"Calm down, dude. What's up? You're not _ever_ late for practice."

As Finn recollected himself, he answered the Queen.

"I was just hanging out with Fia, but I lost track of time and yeah."

He started to rub the back of his head and gave out a small chuckle. It looked like he was blushing a little bit too. Does our little Finn have a crush on someone?

"Whatevs. Come on; get on the drums.", commanded the Queen with a small smirk on her face.

He sprung to the makeshift stage and sat in his seat behind a plain, green, medium-sized drum set. He held a pair of drumsticks; one colored red and the other yellow. Jake plugged his guitar into an amp and started tuning up. Suddenly, someone came in through the door. It was a lanky girl with an afro. She had this laid back aura around her like Marceline. I think I saw her photo somewhere in the school newspaper before.

"Ugh, way to show up on time Keila.", Marceline said with sarcastic disgust.

"Ahaha. You know me, my Queen. I'm just fashionably late.", responded Keila with this sultry, smooth voice.

She had a guitar gig bag strapped on her back. It was covered in stickers that matched Marceline's. She had on this long sleeved, pale green dress that exposed one of her shoulders. The dress stopped a little above the midpoint of her thigh, and she had white knee socks on along that sprouted from her matching pale green flats. All of this pale green that she had on, in my opinion, complemented her skin tone that reminded me of chocolate milk. I watched her as she unzipped her bag to reveal a sparkling emerald green Fender Stratocaster with a white pearl pickguard. She went to the rest of the group, plugged in her guitar, and started tuning up like the rest of the group.

"Hey, Jake. Mind giving me the low E?", asked Keila.

"Sure thing, Kei."

Jake, with his guitar on his shoulders, repeatedly played a deep sound until Keila gave him the signal to stop.

"Thanks, dude."

"Alright. Now that we're all here, what songs would you like to hear, ladies?.", Marceline asked with that arrogant tone of hers. She was facing me and Rain.

"Something tasteful.", I challenged.

"Something cool!", Rain added.

"Tasteful and cool, eh?"

Marceline looked over to her band, and she saw that they knew what song to play out of their repertoire. They all made eye contact with the Queen as she telepathically told them the song title. A kick of the bass drum and hit of a low tom started the song. Everyone displayed parts of their talents in the introduction. Finn and Jake were perfectly in sync when it came to rhythm. Keila and Marceline were doing their own thing, but that was because of their lead positions. Marceline inhaled a good amount of air and started to let her beautiful voice flow from her lips.

"Just like the fish that swim around inside the vast, blue sky,

and like the whale that flaps its fin as it tries to fly,

I was born into this place; I never wondered why,

but all my dreams were far beyond my reach,

and I would cry!

So tell me why; please tell me why

I'm standing here beneath the bitter, pounding rain.

If all of this is just a dream,

I'll close my eyes and find my way to you!"

I was completely taken aback from everyone's immense talents, and Marceline's bass solo. When she sang, I could clearly see her sharp canine teeth, which means she puts more effort in being precise about singing than talking.

"Searching for a way to find the happiness inside,

I found a place that'd lead me to the answer in my mind.

And washed away by tears that fall, just like the rain outside,

was the only lie I kept inside the one I failed to hide?!

Where do I go? Where do I go?

I swim inside a maze; no light to shine the way.

Even if this is just a dream,

I'll close my eyes and find my way to you again!"

Throughout the song, I saw how passionate all of them looked, especially Marceline. Her eyes as she was singing were locked onto an invisible audience that was slightly above my head. She was imagining a larger audience in front of her, as if she was actually at the school festival or maybe somewhere greater. I kept watch on her long, dextrous fingers as they spidered their ways up and down the neck of the bass. Everyone was skilled, but I took particular notice in Marceline. I didn't expect her skills to be this good. She seemed like she was too relaxed to be so passionate about anything.

Small beads of sweat were starting to form and roll off of Marceline's face. It was the same with Finn and Jake. Keila looked less tired. I guess she was the more experienced one of the group. That, or she just doesn't try during practice. They all took a gulp from a nearby water bottle and waited for our reactions.

Rain clapped and shouted in Korean a word of praise. She gasped a little bit at her slip and corrected herself.

"That is good! It's a cool song!"

Everyone knew what Rain's reaction was going to be, but now everyone fixated their eyes on me, the student council president who hired these guys to perform during the school festival to save budget money. I haven't heard how the music club sounded before, since I was too busy with things academic and otherwise to have time, but they were popular among the student body and even some staff members, and now I know why.

"That was. . .", I breathed.

I practically heard Finn's eyes grow larger.

"It was _really_ great.", I admitted. "I didn't expect something so amazing. This is, like, professional level work!" I became a little too excited and stood up from my seat, which was a cheap but slightly worn couch.

"Haha! Looks like we got the student council prez to be a groupie!", laughed Marceline as she flipped her long mess of hair.

I flushed deeply at the thought.

"I-I just like your music is all!", I defended.

I _just_ like your music.

* * *

_Long chapter is long. I used "Air Aquarium" by nano. I really like this singer and use her voice for Marceline's when she's singing, but I love Marceline's voice actress also!_

_How frequently should these things be updated? I've been kinda working on the bartending story, so I'm just wondering. _


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you for the reviews, follows, favorites, and just views in general! Classes have started, so updating might go to once a week. I still have a few backup chapters to release before I have to start writing in real-time though._

_**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever**_

* * *

After about an album more of similar songs, the band started packing up and relaxing.

"Phew! That was some work.", sighed Marceline as she wiped her forehead with her free forearm. "Great job, everybody."

Jake called out of nowhere, "Finn? Where ya goin', buddy?"

Finn was about to sneak out of the door successfully, but he was caught by his guard dog of an older brother. He turned around sheepishly and gave Jake a small, toothy grin.

"I promised Fia that I would walk her home after practice."

"What. She just hung around school until band practice was done? Why didn't she just listen in or something?", questioned Jake.

"Well.", muttered Finn, "She's got softball practice too. Plus, I don't wanna show her the band until I get good enough, you know?"

Marceline caught wind of the conversation and floated over from the amp that her bass guitar was connected to.

"Is our band isn't good enough for your fiery princess?", Marceline half-joked.

"No! We're awesome as a band! But I just wanna get better before I show her how I play. You know I messed up halfway through the third song."

Sensing the strange amount of concern that Finn had for his drum playing, which I thought was perfect, Marceline gave Finn a sly smirk.

"Hmm? What's this, Finn? You never cared _that_ much about playing. Didn't you say, like, 'I just do whatever, and that's good enough for me.'?" She mocked and mimicked Finn and gave him a raised eyebrow that expected an answer.

"Hey! Knock it off, Marceline.", Jake demanded. Marceline backed down from her joking a little, but Jake then took the place of Marceline.

"Ain't it obvious that Finny has a little crushy-wushy on Fia?", taunted Jake now with an arm around his younger brother.

Finn tried to push his older brother off but not with any malicious intent. He was just embarrassed about having a crush, or that's what I thought.

"Stop it, guys!", Finn defended, " I just like being with her 'cause she's my age."

The whole room that was giggling and smiling at the thought of our good friend having a crush on someone suddenly became gloomy and serious. He was right. All of us, including Keila, were going to be graduating from this place soon. If he didn't make friends that were around his age, he'd be lonely. Although he has enough charisma to make as many friends as he wants, he never really had close friends other than people who were older than him. This Fia was the only one that he probably was close with at his age. Finn is friendly, but that doesn't mean that he always has the kinds of friends that he wants.

Finn sensed the awkwardness in the air that he created with that statement and tried to break it.

"Well, maybe I _do_ have a little, little crush on her.", he emphasised the tiny amount through a small hand gesture. The rest of us lit back up and started lightly teasing little Finn. I started to laugh a little bit at Marceline's and Keila's impression of Finn and Fia, which caused Finn to severely blush and playfully beg for mercy. We all had our good laugh and let Finn go to get Fia. Jake ruffled Finn's hair, and Finn gave us his little boy smile that was wide and bright before he took off.

The seniors started to look at each other and feel slightly guilty.

"You know, I never thought of that before.", confessed Keila.

"That we're actually graduating?", Jake filled in.

"That we're leaving everyone else behind."

"It is a happy something, but we are being sad.", chimed Rain.

Marceline, with a concerned look on her face, went up to me and said,

"Hey, Princess."

"What is it?"

"Mind if we hold off our little interrogation for later?"

I, personally, grew tired after the thought of leaving and separating from the people who I've been with for many years came into my mind.

"I don't mind.", I claimed, "But we _do_ need to talk eventually."

"Ahaha. Okay then.", she laughed.

Marceline then went to Jake, Rain, and Keila who were talking about old memories, and future sorrows.

"Come on, guys. Don't get down because of graduation!", she proclaimed as she threw her arms around Rain and Keila, since Jake was a little too tall to do that to.

"That just means we have to hang out more!", she advised with a big smile that showed off more of her sharp, slightly unaligned teeth.

Everyone smiled a little at Marceline's proposition. I had to admit that it was a cute idea.

"Jake.", I called.

"Hm?" He turned his head to look at me, but his body was still facing the other girls.

"Ask Finn what he's doing for the rest of the night. Since it's Friday, let's all hang out at my place. We could all watch a movie or something", I suggested.

The other girls clamored in agreement and were all willing to get going immediately. Jake said that he happily would and would get back to me as soon as Finn gave an answer. Either way, I wanted people hang out at my house, since, to be completely honest, I've started to feel very lonely despite Pepper being there. Finn was right. It was more comfortable to hang around people who are closer to your age.

"Let us invite LSP and B-MO too!", cheered Rain.

"Don't forget Bongo and Guy." Keila added.

"What about Fia? Maybe we could get a sneak peek at Finn's new GF.", Jake said with a grin on his face.

Everyone started happily adding in names to the list of invites and the list of possible movies as I watched them and calculated the amount of food and drinks that I would need to prepare. As the group was about to head back, Marceline broke from it and headed towards me. Everyone said their temporary farewells to each other except for me and Marceline.

Curious, I asked, "Why'd you stay after?"

"Why'd you listen in?", she retorted.

A little shocked and annoyed at her answering me with a question, I slightly stuttered,

"I-I needed to talk to you about this morning, but we're going to put it off so-"

"You coulda waited in the office. I_ did say_ I was gonna come back, after all.", she annoyingly reminded.

Now not only did she cut me off but she gave me an attitude as well. What kind of Queen is she?!

"I didn't know if you were going to keep your word.", I pouted.

"I always keep my word."

Marceline took a quick moment to look around the room. She then advanced slowly towards me with a look of mischief on her face.

"Wh-what are you doing?", I stammered.

She came a little too close for my comfort, so I started to back away, but I landed back on the awkward green couch with a sudden thud. She kept on coming towards me until her cute, little nose was an inch away from my face. Marceline, with her shining ruby eyes, looked into mine for what seemed like an eternity. My eyes were torn from choosing to stare back into her enticing eyes or at her lovely lips. She then smoothly put her lips near my ear and purred,

"Like I said; I_ always_ keep my word, Bonnie."

When her lips popped out the ancient nickname "Bonnie", a nostalgic chill ran through my spine.

* * *

_Next chapter is an optional chapter. Don't have to read it in order to progress the story. _

_But when I do optional chapters, I release the actual chapter at the same time._


	7. Optional Chapter 1

_**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever.**_

* * *

10 years ago:

I was in my boy phase. After I found out how to read, I saw that every princess had a hero. I thought it was total bunk, so I decided to become my own hero. I would say "Just call me Bonnie, the Hero Princess!" to people who I saved or helped. It's not dorky! You need to protect your true identity as a hero, you know. In the park one day, I wore a pink tank top and purple cargo shorts with well-worn black sneakers. My light blond hair was short but long enough to be tied up a little at the end. I was playing around with Lauren, but then I saw these kids bullying another kid! It was three v one, which was totes not fair.

The bullied kid wore a dirty and tattered dress that held onto their shoulders through one overall-like strap. The other strap was broken. There was a button missing. This kid had a red shirt underneath that was also being torn slightly because of the bullies. I saw red shoes on the ground along with white socks. The kid had short, black hair and was extremely pale. That's wen I heard things that made me red with anger.

"Vampire! Go die!"

"Get out; no one likes you!"

"Haha; look! She's crying!"

"Aww. Do you need your stupid stuffed sock? Weak!"

The bullies had a doll that looked like a sock monkey, but it was fatter than the other sock monkeys I know. One of them dangled it in front of the downed girl and stuck his tongue out. As she tried to grab it, the bully lifted it higher.

"Give Hambo back!", the defenseless girl cried. There were tears falling from her face. When she spoke, I saw these two sharp teeth stick out of her mouth. I had enough.

I jumped in and kicked the bully with the doll in the shins. He let go of the doll, and the little girl grabbed it as if it were her life. He had his hands on the spot where I kicked him.

"Ow! Who the heck are you?!", he shouted painfully.

I turned to face all the bullies, put my back straight, and my hands on my hips. I yelled, "I'm the Hero! And I'm gonna make sure you guys pay!"

Needless to say, I got into a little fight. I won though, but everything hurt so much afterwards that I plopped myself on the ground near the tattered girl, who was watching everything in awe.

"Grr. We'll get you back!" the bullies screamed as they hobbled away with their fists in the air

I tried to act cool and got up and dusted myself off. I turned to the little girl and stuck out my hand to help her up. I smiled to let her know that I was OK. It was embarrassing though 'cause I had teeth missing from a few nights ago. She grabbed my hand and pulled herself up. I went to get her hard red shoes and socks, and she followed me and put them on in order. She put her head down and bowed.

She gratefully said, "Thank you for saving Hambo and me!"

She made her back straight again and said,

"My name's Marceline."

Marceline then held "Hambo" closer to her chest and asked,

"What's yours?"

"It's Bonnie!", I said with a smile on my face. I did my little pose with my hands on my hips and back straight.

"Bonnie the Hero Princess!"

Marceline was in awe and smiled, which showed off her unique, sharp teeth.

"When I get older, I'll be as cool as you!"

She then looked at the ground with a deep blush running across her face.

"Then. Then I'll be your knight and repay you!"

I was starting to get embarrassed, so I tried to play it cool by being humble.

"Y-you don't have to though.", I mumbled as I looked away to avoid looking uncool in front of the person I saved.

"I want to though; I promise! I'll be the coolest most awesomest knight for you. I didn't show it today, but I can fight.", she declared as she flexed the non-existent muscle on her right arm that was still clinging onto Hambo's hand and patted the flat bicep with her left hand.

* * *

_So I tried putting this in Bonnibel's 8-year-old perspective, but it was kinda hard. Cannot do._

_This was an optional chapter, and I plan on doing more optionals just because I want to speed up things_


	8. Chapter 7

_**I do not own any rights to Adventure Time whatsoever.**_

_****I'm going to do more optional chapters that are basically little tidbits of flashbacks or fluff. Since classes are intense, I kinda have to be really slow in updating and stuff, and I really regret not doing this earlier._

_Thank you for reading though! Reviews are greatly appreciated~_

* * *

"You're that Marceline?!", I yelled after the half-second long flashback that felt like a sharp jolt to my heart.

She gave me a devilish grin and confirmed, "Bingo, Hero Princess."

I blushed at the foolishness and absence of shame of my younger self. I started to blush even harder because of what Marceline had said to me as a child. "I'll be your knight", she said.

"Well? Am I cool enough for ya, Bonnie?", she questioned as she tried to display her "coolness" with a pose that seemed oh-so familiar to me. I could feel the blood rushing to my ears and my cheeks overheating. I buried my face in my hands and tried to regain composure. Marceline started laughing, but she soon stopped as soon as I peeked from the spaces in-between my fingers. She smiled at me, walked over to the couch, and sat next to me. I put my hands down to my knees, but I didn't make any eye contact with Marceline. I was still too red, but then a thought came to my mind.

"If you wanted to be my knight, why haven't I seen you since then?", I muttered as I played with my thumbs a little bit.

I didn't see Marceline, but I heard her take in a breath and sigh, "I had family things to deal with. 'Cause of that, we moved, and I didn't come back until, like, sophomore year."

Having my curiosity struck, I turned my head to face my childhood knight. She had a serious look on her face, like the face she made when she was singing only sadder. She didn't even make eye contact with me.

"Wait." I realized, "If you were back sophomore year, why haven't I seen you until now?"

Marceline blushed a little and avoided my face even more. She was out of her serious state though, which made me feel more relaxed. If someone as laid back as Marceline was serious, then something serious was actually happening.

"I-I-I.", she stuttered, "So. I. Uh."

She kept on stalling and blushing even harder.

"You?"

"I. Ugh." She put her elbow on the arm of the chair and propped her head up on her hand. Her long fingers wrapped around her cheek as her palm covered her mouth. She closed her eyes and mumbled something into her hand.

"What?"

She mumbled slightly louder and turned extremely red.

"Marceline, I can't-"

"I thought you were a dude, okay?!", she finally yelled as she stood up and looked at me with clenched fists and shoulders stiff. I thought for a brief moment and remembered how I looked when I was younger. I really did look like a flamboyant boy; almost like Finn only pink and purple. I giggled at the mistake that Marceline made. This caused her to make a little growl.

"How could I not though?!", she snarled.

"I was '_Bonnie_ the Hero _Princess_'.", I retorted.

"I _still_ thought you were a dude! Like, you had the short hair and the clothes and the fighting. And. And."

She started to blush again.

"You were the coolest."

I looked at her face and how she stood. She reminded me of a guilty puppy. All I did as a response was smile. That is, until my phone started to ring shortly after.

"Hello?"

"Bonnibel, it's Pepper. It's well after clubs let out, and I'm wondering if you're going to be home for dinner."

I looked at my pink-strapped watch and saw that it was close to six.

"Oh! I completely lost track of time.", I said to both Pepper and Marceline.

I took my bag and started heading out the door, saying a silent goodbye to Marceline who returned my goodbye by mouthing "See you tonight" and giving me her ever-confident smile. It looked like she was back to her old self again.

On my way back to my car, I started thinking about Marceline. Was that why I wasn't as skeptical as I should have been when I saw her come out of the student council closet? When did I forget that she was someone from my childhood? Why did I forget about her? It might have to do with the fact that she just left out of nowhere and never came back until recently. How did she get the "Queen" nickname? If anything, she was the first person my age to be saved by me. She was,

"My first princess. . .", I whispered out loud as I buckled my seatbelt. I became completely flustered at the thought and hit my head on the steering wheel. I never felt more embarrassed in my life. I was just red all over. Then, that's when I heard someone singing right outside of my open car window.

"I'm gonna

drink the red

from your pretty, pink face.

I'm gonna

sink my fangs

in, and make your heart race."

It was Marceline underneath a biker helmet that covered her mouth. She got onto the mysterious vehicle from earlier this morning, started it, put her visor down, and rode it skillfully out of the parking lot. I'm guessing she didn't notice me; otherwise, she would've probably said something. Maybe she did know that I was there and was just teasing me with that song because she saw the red blaring from the tips of my ears. Maybe. Ugh. She's the most frustrating piece of work I've ever met!

However, that little song _did_ make my heart race.

* * *

_Original part of the song belongs to Adventure Time staff. The last two lines of it I just made up. At least, I think I made it up. I never heard someone fill it in even though I bet a ton of people already did on YouTube._


End file.
